IS claims deadly bus attack on Egypt Christians

Egypt's foreign minister told his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Saturday that the militants who attacked a bus convoy of Coptic Christians a day earlier were trained at a camps inside Libya.

A young woman speaking from her hospital bed said the assailants ordered the women to surrender their jewellery and money before they opened fire, killing the men first and then some of the women. "Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity", said President Donald Trump in a statement released after Friday's attack.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters, said the death toll stood at 28 and could rise.

The attack was reportedly carried out by eight to ten gunmen, media reports said.

Sinai Province, the name of the local affiliate of IS in Egypt, is seeking to impose a hardline interpretation of Islam in the country.

The ambassador said that combating intolerance and providing protection to Egyptians of different faiths should be a top priority, adding that extremists should not be allowed to divide the Egyptian society.

Already, el-Sissi declared a three-month state of emergency in April following a pair of attacks targeting Christians north of Cairo.